By Tai Wei Lim

Technology Disruption: Policy Implications for Stakeholders

Technologies
have developed so quickly that it is now difficult to understand these complex
systems and their implications for human society and development. Many of them
have the potential to disrupt the way we live. Policy makers and ordinary
individuals both must prepare to manage the disruptions that come with
technological development. The trick or the strategy is to harness the benefits
while minimizing the detriments. This is especially the case since individuals,
especially in their roles as consumers, are keen to snap up new technologies to
improve their living conditions, work more effectively, or increase
productivity.

Some
East Asian states that are used to instituting state developmentalism, state
identification of priority sectors, strategic economic policies, and providing
assistance to industries and the private sector, are already planning ahead,
putting funding into the industrial sectors or research units and organizations
that they feel will be crucial for economic competition in the near future.

Some
examples of these technologies include robotics, especially the use of robots for
assisting or coping with human weaknesses; the use of lasers in lidar for the navigation
of driverless cars on the road; the navigation of buses and other vehicles in the
future from computer panels and consoles; exoskeletons that can help enhance
human strength; androids that can perform effective robotic procedures without
frightening humans as they are made to resemble humans; new sources of energy as
well as bioenergy sources like palm fruits, corn, etc.

There
are also technologies that are invisible or not easily visible to our naked
eyes. Small nanorobots can help repair damaged cells and tissues. Nanotech can
create some of the strongest or/and lightest materials on earth. Currently,
research costs for developing nanotech are high and state budgets are needed to
subsidize or bring down these costs.

In
the digital realm, AI (Artificial Intelligence) can learn and pick up on new
skills, replicate human behavior, and eventually advise users on how to make
decisions. Virtual reality (VR) can create new platforms of existence atop the
physical real world, creating new experiences. Augmented Reality (AR) builds
digital information onto physical reality and the real world. Digital
experiences like these technologies may change the way we sense reality and
broaden our understanding as well as non-tangible experiences.

Increasingly,
the social aspects of technological change need to be studied so that
stakeholders and policymakers can pinpoint the areas that need to be addressed
to prepare society for the inevitable changes that will take place. People will
be upset and jobs will be lost. The trend of unemployability will also increase
as skills eventually lose touch with the demands of the marketplace. Therefore,
to cope with these changes, productivity needs to be enhanced, new ways of
public education need to be devised, and governments must prepare their
citizens for new paradigms of thinking. Because the process of disruption is
evolutionary, governments must run hard to keep up with changes, alongside
private sector entities and individuals. For many individuals, this catchup
process will be lifelong in nature.

Not
all technologies bring about doomsday scenarios. In an optimistic scenario,
change can be incremental and not disruptive to individual lives.

Disruption
to jobs happens when machines, software, and digital technologies take over
tasks that were formerly performed only by specialists. It is quite likely this
disruption will occur in all industrial and service sectors, sparing none.
Those firms that are slow in implementing new technologies run the risk of
being left behind or eliminated by the competition, and that those that
implement the technologies quickly will contribute to greater unemployment.
States, private sector entities, and entrepreneurs do not usually have much
options when it comes to adopting new technologies if they wish to remain
competitive. Speed will be a crucial determinant of success, especially in how
fast governments can adopt policies that encourage the readiness to utilize advanced
technologies.

The
World Economic Forum (WEF) has been discussing such topics and strategies for
some time. There is currently no fail-safe solution. The conversation between
policymakers and business leaders will have to carry on as they continue to
observe how technological disruptions impact their societies, companies,
economies, and states. Because much of the technologically-disrupted landscapes
are uncharted, business leaders and statesmen are expected to have changed
mindsets, creative paradigms, and bold visions to reengineer their societies
and companies to fit the brave new world.

Not
all technologies bring about doomsday scenarios. In an optimistic scenario,
change can be incremental and not disruptive to individual lives. The flip side
of the argument is that our homes can become smarter. They can also provide
readings to residents for optimal living conditions and can help conserve
energy. Temperature, sunlight entry, security access, wind access, intensity of
lighting, can be adjustable for optimality in smart homes. Solar power panels
can also help households save energy. Saving time and energy costs also
facilitates individuals to pursue more entertainment options, including
on-demand programming that allows consumers the visual, emotive, aesthetic, and
auditory experiences they desire.

In
terms of traffic infrastructure, data can help to regulate traffic flows,
manage airports, air spaces, and sea ports. Individuals can also process
information and become producers of digital information by curating them,
managing them and adding value to information through the creative production
of content. 3D printers can one day help to print prosthetic limbs to help the
handicapped, reduce costs for building and construction, and make it cheaper to
produce manufactured items.

Automation
can help raise productivity. Industrial robots may help to mitigate the labor
shortage brought about by an aging population, releasing humans to work on
higher value-added productive activities. Many advanced and advanced developing
economies are facing the challenge of aging populations. Releasing humans for
value-added activities may include items like research, design, and other
knowledge-based activities. Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) can
benefit from the availability of industrial robots that can work longer and
with greater precision, especially when the prices of these robotic technologies
become cheaper. When many of the technologies mentioned above become
mainstream, their costs will go down, facilitating their proliferation and
implementation. Very often, these technologies may enjoy cross-applications,
for example the 3-D printing of strong and light prosthetics using nanotech
with built in robotic parts for movement.